Why India batting lineup should be worried about Shane Warne coached Shoaib Bashir

England announced their 16-man squad for the upcoming five-match Test series in India on Monday. Playing Test match in India can be considered a formidable challenge for Bazball. Noteworthy selections include the return of Jack Leach after recovering from a stress fracture, the recall of Rehan Ahmed, and the inclusion of two uncapped options – left-arm spinner Tom Hartley and 20-year-old off spinner Shoaib Bashir.

Bashir is yet to make his international debut, earned a surprise call-up to England’s Test squad for the India series. Debuting for Somerset in June, he notched 10 wickets in six first-class matches and impressed in an England Lions’ camp with figures of 6 for 42 against Afghanistan A. Bashir’s inclusion raised eyebrows, especially with the omission of Liam Dawson, a seasoned performer. England’s director of cricket, Rob Key, defended the choice, citing Bashir’s inherent skills and potential.

“We saw him last summer and every now and again you just catch a glimpse of a couple of balls where you think, ‘hang on, there’s something different there’ or ‘that looks special’. So we saw him in county cricket, we saw the way the way that he bowled the ball, then you see the potential and then you try and find out a little bit about his character,” Key said.

Shane Warne mentored Bashir at Rajasthan Royals Academy in UK

Shortly after the significant announcement on Monday, Rajasthan Royals shared a post featuring Bashir alongside the legendary Shane Warne. The young cricketer had been part of a Rajasthan Royals camp in the UK a few years ago, where he had the opportunity to bowl under Warne’s watchful guidance and engage in valuable discussions with the late great spinner.

“One of my highlights of training at the Royals Academy UK was meeting and talking to the great Shane Warne. I was lucky enough to bowl a few balls while he was watching and he gave me a few valuable tips!” Bashir was quoted in the post.

India has historically struggled against debutant spinners on home soil, evident in Jason Krejza’s impactful debut for Australia in Nagpur in 2008. Despite India’s formidable batting lineup featuring the Fab Five, Krejza claimed 12 wickets in the match, including dismissals of Dravid, Sehwag, Laxman, Ganguly, and Dhoni.

The trend continued earlier this year when Todd Murphy, a right-arm offbreak bowler, debuted in the Border-Gavaskar series, taking seven wickets in his first Test. Subsequently, in Indore, left-arm spinner Matthew Kuhnemann, playing his second game, led Australia to a nine-wicket win with a first-innings fifer on a contentious track.